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Why has microsoft word deleted several pages of my documents?

Anonymous
2023-08-13T21:44:51+00:00

Hey there, so I've just started getting into writing and for a competition, my county does I decided to join it and began writing. I'd gotten down about 20 pages, saved it, and backed it up to my one drive, enabling autosave. I opened it today and found it deleted several of the scripts I've made, my passion project of a novel nearing one hundred pages, when I last, wrote in it five days ago. I cannot recover any of it because when I try and hit recover unsaved documents it says nothing was found. Is there any way I can get my work back or have the word-processing gods killed my stories?

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  1. Doug Robbins - MVP - Office Apps and Services 322.9K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2023-08-14T04:13:06+00:00

    Right click on the file in OneDrive and then on Version History and see if there is a more complete version of your document there.

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  2. Anonymous
    2023-08-14T02:14:12+00:00

    Hello Robert

    I’m Adeyemi and I’d be happy to help you with your question.

    I'm sorry to hear that you've lost some of your work. It can be frustrating when something like this happens, especially when you've put so much effort into your writing. However the lost of files via updates is largely impossible, and if you have done all you mentioned then you will be fine. There are a few things you can try to recover your lost pages:

    1. Search for Word backup files: Word backup file names have a ".wbk" extension. If you have the "backup copy" option selected in Word, there might be a backup copy of the file. To check whether this option is on, select File > Options > Advanced, scroll down to the Save section, and then select Always create backup copy.
    2. Check the Recycle Bin: If you deleted a Word document without emptying the Recycle Bin, you might be able to restore the document. Double-click the Recycle Bin on the Desktop. Search through the list of documents to see whether the deleted Word document is still there.
    3. Windows File Recovery Tool: If you are using Windows 10, version 2004 or later, you can try the Windows File Recovery tool. Windows File Recovery is available from the Microsoft Store. You can use it to recover files that have been permanently deleted.
    4. Restoring documents saved to SharePoint and OneDrive: For documents that you saved or synced to SharePoint or OneDrive, there are options available for restoring previous versions of the file.

    More details here: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/office/troubleshoot/word/recover-lost-unsaved-corrupted-document.

    If none of these methods work, it may be time to look into a data recovery program or contact Microsoft support concerning this to help them search your device all over again.

    I really hope this helps

    Regards Adeyemi

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  3. Anonymous
    2023-08-13T21:46:36+00:00

    By the by I know for a fact I saved them because I did a whole process of backing it up to the onedrive. I also ensured my computer didn't die while I was working, or if I closed anything abruptly. The only real difference is that my word updated.

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